It was with a good deal of amusement that I read an article from the Chicago Sun Times that talked about the ‘shocking’ new book by Kitty Kelly. Kitty is going to tell the world all about Oprah Winfrey. This is the ‘tell all’ unauthorized, no holds barred, down and dirty look at this doyen of the media. The press release for this blockbuster claims that Kitty Kelly has interviewed more than 850 people in compiling this unauthorized biography. She is actually quite well known for publishing unauthorized biographies that on occasion can be quite critical of the subject. However I seriously doubt that is the case here. Oprah and her hired legal guns are vigilant to say the least.

The Sun Times says:

Several have tried to write investigative and tell-all bios of Chicago’s talk-show queen before — and failed. In 1997, a former boyfriend tried to publish a book, in which he claimed the two lived together in 1985 and did drugs; the book wasn’t published, and the boyfriend then tried to sue Oprah for $20 million for blocking it. Plus, Oprah’s own father announced plans to write a tell-all bio, but the project was never completed.

Well folks, I hate to tell you this, but the ‘tell all’ about Oprah is already in print. And has been for over two years.

It was a scant four years ago that Oprah Winfrey and her million dollar entourage went into overdrive. Some ‘idiot’ author had decided to release a less than flattering look at this ‘Icon’ of the modern media age. Author Keifer Bonvillain had crossed the line.

Needless to say, Oprah was not going to take this laying down. Someone was going to suffer for making these slanderous remarks. It would be presumptuous of me to pretend to know both sides of the argument. Oprah though was livid! She found herself, the role model of the African American entertainment world being accused of racism! In this new world of being PC ‘Politically Correct’, this was an outrage.

It turned out that there was little legal grounds to prevent the publication of Ruthless, however that did not stop the Oprah Winfrey freight train. Instead they ran to the FBI accusing Keifer Binvillain of extortion. This ludicrous claim was later dismissed, however the damage had been done. The book was released, and indeed is still in print. Keifer Bonvillain was perminently labeled as the guy who tried to blackmail Oprah!

I have no doubt that Kitty Kelly’s new expose, is anything but an expose. That is an easy assumption to make based on Oprah Winfrey’s long history of blocking adverse publicity.

I do have a copy of Ruthless and plan on dusting it off and giving it a serious read. I have spoken to Keifer Bonvillain on several occasions, he does come off as a credible person, contrary to the Winfrey spin doctors accounts of him. While this is neither the time nor place to go into details I do know that he is involved in another potentially volatile situation that involves several government agencies. This time he is the accuser rather than the accused. I have read some of the material concerned with this new case and I know that both the FBI and DHS are treating the matter very seriously.

If Keifer Bonvillain is correct, there will be some serious jail time for a number of individuals. In fact I am sitting on a press release right now, but have been asked to hold off on publishing any articles pending some federal signoff.

Ruthless, is aptly titled, it is a ruthless look behind the glitz and glamor that surrounds Oprah Winfrey. While I might not agree entirely with Keifer Bonvillain, you can not argue with the facts and figures he cites.

Why wait for the watered down Kitty Kelly version? Buy Ruthless and make your own judgment. Ruthless is available from Amazon, just click on the Amazon link above.

14 users commented in " Oprah Winfrey â€“ Ruthless â€“ Years Later "

You know everybody has secrets. Oprah is an icon. Everybody wants to bring her down. I don’t care what secrets are there. The world has enough real problems. Everyone should find something to accomplish that is a positive thing. Write something to help people, take time out of your schedule to reach out to someone needing help, etc. Put down the poison pen and do something worthwhile. This is what I would say to anyone trying to make a living off of negative press.

I went to the website http://www.ruthlessbiz.com and the author had the guts to post audio of Oprah’s lawyer setting him up! Oprah Winfrey really doesn’t want people to know what’s in this book. I ordered one today and can’t wait to read it. Kitty Kelly may have spoken to over 800 people but Keifer Bonvillain talked to Oprah’s office manager of 8 years and the book is based on those conversations.

Dan said,

in January 30th, 2010 at 1:15 pm

Simon Barrett, you don’t even know Oprah. Why is it so important to you to trash her or portray her in a negative light? Why are you so eager to believe any dirt on her you can find? Why are so many people so threatened by a black woman being a successful icon in our society?

The book’s only source is a low level Harpo employee with questionable motives and credibility and based on the review above, the author Keifer Bonvillain does not have the intelligence to evaluate the information his source is giving him, filter it, competently verify it, and put it in perspective. I prefer to spend my hard earned money on books by people who at least make an effort to be objective and have the skills to do so.

Oh, blogcritics, I know them well, in fact I have published almost 100 articles with them, Jessica Schneider took the easy route. Here is the question, did this lady investigate? Did this lady talk to Keifer?

Keifer Bonvillain never worked for Harpo Films or Oprah which proves Jessica Schneider, the source of Dan’s information, has never even read the book she reviewed. Simon i’m with you! I can’t wait to get my hands on this book and I will judge for myself who is telling the truth. I read a few reviews and I think this book is well worth my time and money. Not to mention if the guys was just lying on Oprah, she would have never spent the time and energy to try to shut him up. A friend of mine who agrees with my position just said, “The guy can’t just print lies. They would have sued him for that!”

Dan said,

in January 30th, 2010 at 9:25 pm

mdavis you CAN just print lies because it’s not worth the trouble to sue most times. All it does is draw attention to the lies & it’s almost impossible to win a libel suit in America. As for Oprah trying to shut him up; if someone had taped the office gossip about you by the employee who hated you most, wouldn’t you want to shut it up? Jessica Schneider hates Oprah so she wouldn’t trash the book unless it really was trash but if you enjoy reading mean spirited celebrity gossip and personal attacks then knock yourself out.

Has nothing to do with being a successful black woman. but everything to do with, greed finger pointing & control. for anyone to say buy the book judge for yourself! well who are any of us to pass judgment. If you are one to buy these types of negative books, of gossip. well! what does that tell you about yourself?

[…] 2008 Keifer Bonvillain released his rather inflammatory book Ruthless. Keifer faced an uphill battle, including a brief vacation at the hands of the […]

ReaderFromAtlanta said,

in May 23rd, 2010 at 7:37 am

“Oprah” By Kitty Kelley. Awesome.. This book is really amazing. It opened new realities about Oprah. Written by an expert on celebrity matters, armed with a warehouse of documentation, it helped me discover the shadow side of this international icon. When I closed the book after reading its final pages, I could feel a complete shift in how I understood Oprah. It gave me a profound compassion for her.. I realize, after reading this book, that even though I try to appear exceptional on the exterior, I too have deep, dark places inside of my heart that I’ve tried to hide and overcompensate for. Just what I needed was a reminder that each of us has our dark side. It is part of being human.

Equally thought-provoking is : “Little Gifts of Sustainable Contentment” by C.J. Good. Thinking I could finish it in an hour I soon put the brakes on, slowing my reading pace down to savor every word. The book is short and simple, yet enthralling. C.J. Good is an author of deep insight, intellectual honesty and true caring. An exceptional source of strength and support.
A reader from Atlanta, Georgia

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